


Another Christmas, another story

by HeadcanonsByLila



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Dinner, Christmas Party
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2016-12-14
Packaged: 2018-09-07 18:25:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8811463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeadcanonsByLila/pseuds/HeadcanonsByLila
Summary: Fitz and Simmons invite their parents and friends for Christmas dinner at their apartment. What they don't know is that not everything goes as planned.





	1. Chapter 1

       Holidays season was long forgotten by Jemma Simmons and Leopold Fitz. After four years working excessively with S.H.I.E.L.D. and nearly dying multiple times, both agreed it was about time to have a break and celebrate Christmas. That was, after all, their big chance to host a party at their own apartment - which was recommended by a runaway Daisy Johnson via email, no big deal. Fitz made sure to invite his and Jemma's families as soon as their place was fully furnished; he even mailed ridiculous festive minion cards. Closest friends from S.H.I.E.L.D. were also on the guest list. Yes, there was a guest list organized by alphabetical order and medical restrictions, just in case somebody had an allergic reaction to Simmons's plum pudding with custard. The couple was to put up the decorations on the 23rd, but both were too busy during the day. On the 24th, though, Jemma got an early call from the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., who requested she explained how a new synthetic enzyme worked to an Indian doctor. She tried to replicate: "why me? Why today?", receiving as an answer: "because you are the only one with who understands what this substance is about and because doctor Sudha's leaving tonight." She could not argue. It was better for her to go than mumble. Fitz did not like the contretemps either, but promised to clean the house and set up their fake tree before Jemma got back.

         At nearly 1PM, Simmons called: "Hi Fitz, I'm still stuck at the lab. You mind putting up all the lights and garlands for me?" "Sure, anything else?" He knew it was risky to ask, but did it anyway. There was a long pause, as if, at the other side of the line, Jemma was trying to remember what he did _not_ want to do. "Since you asked..." everybody knows what comes after these words will ruin the rest of their day "...you could prepare the turkey. I'm sure I still have the recipe somewhere... try looking for a yellow notebook inside my I Heart Sheffield bag." Fitz was still disappointed at himself for offering help, but there was no going back. As soon as Jemma hung up, he started a treasure hunt for the bag. He had never seen her carry it, which led to a thought: it may be inside the suitcase she always takes when visiting her family. And indeed he found the bag, but there was no yellow notebook inside it. Alright, Leopold Fitz always has a plan B. He googled TURKEY RECIPE OVEN on his phone (yes, he forgot to turn caps off). "A Simply Perfect Roast Turkey" came up on top of the page and he fell under the spell of a beautiful picture that followed.

         He started the preparations according to the recipe: preheated the oven, rinsed the (headless) turkey, dried it with paper towels, massaged its back with butter... Fitz found the procedure hilarious: having to wash and dry the dead bird like a baby, only to carve it with a butcher knife later. _Life is ironic_. "Oh, look at that, I've been impaled" he said, in his best impersonation of a turkey voice, cradling the poor thing's wings. Luckily nobody would know he still remembered all Olaf's lines from Frozen. After one hour chopping onions, crying, chopping more onions, crying even more, then finally mixing the dices with thyme, paisley and pre-baked potatoes, Fitz stuffed Alp ("hero" in Turkish, a proper name for a brave bird who died to be served as the main dish). The engineer kept following the instructions. Time to put this beauty in the oven. Ten minutes later, Fitz was already engaged with pulling ornaments from boxes and duct taping them in strategical places. It was a serious duty. Sometimes the garlands fell off the walls and he had to double the tape before hanging them again, sometimes the lights did not turn on. At all times, however, Fitz cursed himself for being a dedicated boyfriend. 

         One hour later, he was hanging a wreath on the apartment's entrance, not sure if two nails were enough to hold that gigantic, consequently heavy ring of pinecones, poinsettias, hollies, olive branches and lights. At 4PM, Jemma texted: " _stuck in traffic. Can you believe there's a jam on Christmas Eve?_ " His alarm reminded him it was time to remove the tin foil from the turkey. When he did so, the delicious scent of meat begun to spread all over the kitchen. Fitz was glad nothing had gone wrong; not that he was a bad chef, of course, he lived most of his childhood helping his mother, followed by several times he cooked at the Bus because Skye's daily Chinese takeouts (or leftovers, depending on how long they had been flying) drove him nauseous.

       Jemma arrived before 5. She couldn't stop thanking Fitz for saving the day, especially for roasting the turkey - which smelled fantastic. "The director hates me" she complained, while hanging her coat. "He hates all of us" Fitz added, basting the soon-to-be-eaten dish for the last time. _Only fifty minutes left until you're done, Alp_. Simmons went to shower; it had been a stressful day for her, after all.  A few moments later, the intercom rang. It was Daisy. When she got inside the apartment, she instantly commented how tasty the place smelled instead of saying "Hi Fitz, nice wreath you've got on your door. Merry Christmas!" like anybody else would. She took her coat off and revealed a Chewbacca (wearing a festive Santa hat) sweater underneath. It was nothing you would not expect from Daisy Johnson. "Where's Jemma?" she asked "Showering" The guest examined the apartment carefully. "I'm so glad you two like the apartment" Daisy commented "Yeah, it's exactly how we wanted." She sat on the couch without being told to do so, because she knew Fitz would tell her to sit, anyway. She looked out of the bay window and watched the street outside: it was already dark, but the dim lights illuminated people and cars coming and going, all headed to their evening festivities. "I do that a lot, too" Jemma's voice interrupted her thoughts. Simmons had her hair wrapped in a towel, yet that did not stop her from sitting next to her friend. "When I was little," Daisy remembered "Christmas was the worst time of the year. It was a reminder that no matter what I did, I would never have a family to give me presents and sing carols and bake cookies with me. I was miserable." She gasped, trying to fight bad thoughts "But now I realize you guys are better than every family I could've had."


	2. Chapter 2

          6PM, the intercom rang again. It was Mr. and Mrs. Simmons, accompanied by Fitz's mother.

         "Now please don't comment about us being a couple, okay?" Fitzsimmons warned Daisy, who replied: "you still haven't told them the big news?" "No" "why not?" "Shh! They're coming!"

There was a knock on the door and Fitz hurried to get it. "Hello, Fitz, happy Christmas!" Said a male voice with a sharp English accent, which reminded Daisy of Alan Rickman's. "Hello, sir, happy Christmas to you, too." Followed by him, a female voice: "hello, Fitz!" "Hello, Mrs. Simmons." The parents came to greet and hug their daughter, while Fitz said hello to his mother. The three parents had brought their luggage as well as gifts wrapped in red, green and white.

         "And who is the lady sitting on your sofa like that?" Said Mrs. Simmons, in a disapproval tone. "Not your roommate, I suppose?"

         "No, mum, this is Daisy, our friend. She came to spend the evening with us." "Us _who_?" That woman had no Christmas spirit. "You and our friends." Simmons glanced at Fitz and forced a smile "We are celebrating the purchase of our own apartment" Fitz completed, then excused himself and went to the kitchen to open the oven. The living room was silent, clearly due to Mrs. Simmons's ruined expectation of spending the evening with her husband, her daughter, Fitz and his mother only.

         "Why don't you all take a seat by the bay window?" Jemma was still smiling, which, in her point of view, looked like a nervous tic.  _Please, mum, don't ruin our big day_.  Everyone accepted the suggestion, apart from Daisy, who was already sitting. Fitz gave his mother the remote and said they could watch tv while waiting for the other guests. He whispered "time for plan B" in one of his girlfriend's ears. She was clearly thinking the same thing.

         "Would anybody like some wine?" She smiled again, but that one consisted on mischief rather than falsity. All guests said yes, and Fitz followed Jemma to the kitchen. They hoped to have enough bottles, in case all went south. 

The intercom rang again: it was May and Coulson. That was the first time the three S.H.I.E.L.D. agents saw May willingly wearing something not black (in that case, a green dress under a faux fur coat, very elegant). Apart from that, she was still the same serious, quiet woman as always. Coulson saved the day by telling jokes (" _why was Santa's little helper depressed? Because he had low elf esteem_ ") and talking about general subjects with the Simmons. Finally, after Daisy helped mrs. Fitz switch from Elf to a random spotify Christmas playlist, the final guests arrived: Mack, Yo-yo and Doctor Radcliffe.

"Time for dinner!" Jemma announced, once everyone was gathered in the living room.

 

...

 

"I never thought my stomach could handle so much turkey" Daisy commented "it's inhuman!"

They were all laughing, even Fitz and Simmons's parents, who had no clue there were not just one, but two inhumans aroundthe table. Coulson felt tempted to start a pun battle, but May touched his arm in an authoritarian gesture before he could utter anything. 

         "So, you two have finally moved in together" Mr. Simmons finally mentioned the big elephant in the room. Jemma and Fitz exchanged meaningful looks, silently deciding whether it was a good moment to tell the news or not. "It was about time, don't you think?" Daisy asked in a playful tone, not only to the father, but to her colleagues too. Although she had no intention to denounce her friends, the beans were accidentally spilled by her.

         "What does she mean with  _about time_? " all parents asked in unison.

         Thanks a lot , thought Fitzsimmons.

         Fitz stood and held Jemma's hand as she rose. All eyes were on them.

         "The reason we invited you three tonight wasn't only the apartment." He started, then Jemma went on: "Mum, Dad, Mrs. Fitz, we moved in because we are now dating; we are hopeful the time will come for us to get married sometime in one or two years. Since we've always got along, the apartment sounded like a good start to our next adventure." She finished her announcement with a shy smile. Fitz still had his hand locked with hers. Being the person who initiated Operation Fitz-Simmons back in 2013 and who found the place for the couple, Daisy clapped and yelled "HURRAY!". The other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents imitated her, a little hesitant at first, but they were happy for the couple. Mrs Fitz got up and hugged her future daughter-in-law first, then whispered on her son's ear: "Come on, get married already! What are you waiting for?" He did not reply. Next came Simmons's parents, who hugged and congratulated both of them. They secretly-not-so-secretly knew those two were meant for each other.

         "You two are next!" Daisy shouted, directly towards Mack and Elena.

Jemma passed her plum pudding test with flying colors, a relief to her accusing conscience that she should have used muscovado sugar instead of molasses. Fitz suggested their secret santa started before dessert was over, just in case someone got upset with their present. Coulson volunteered to go first. "My secret santa is a very brave woman, who would do anything to protect S.H.I.E.L.D. and her friends" It could be any of the female agents in the room. "But I guess all of them have this trait. Anyway, I got Yo-yo. Merry Christmas, kid." Elena unwrapped the small package given to her and a bright orange box was revealed. "Oh, come on, Coulson! Running shoes?" She showed everyone the lid containing the Nike logo, then opened the pack. Surpringly, it contained a yo-yo, not shoes. "Just do it" Coulson joked as she picked the toy and threw it; a perfect move for someone who is a human yo-yo. She continued the game. "I do not know much about my secret santa, but she fights better than Daredevil. Merry Christmas, Agent May." The woman smirked awkwardly and unwrapped a book. "Eat Pray Love? Really?" Elena would never confess she chose the gift after finding an online article about "7 Must-Read Books For Anyone Going Through A Midlife Crisis".

May was brief: "Mack is my secret Santa." She passed the gift to him; it was a shirt with ' This is what a badass mechanic looks like' p rinted on it. "My secret santa is the smartest guy in the room" he said "sorry, Fitz" then gave Radcliffe a thin box. It contained nothing but paper sheets; the cover displayed the words  _Sono Verdi_.  Mack was hoping somebody would get the inside joke, but he unfortunately had to explain it. "This is Italian for 'I am Verdi'. Giuseppe Verdi composed an opera named Aida, so this is why it's funny." The other agents expressed understanding at last. Fitzsimmons's parents didn't, because that is the point of an inside joke. Radcliffe got Coulson, his secret santa, a Captain America action figure. Little did he know the former director of S.H.I.E.L.D. already had seven of those.

         "Okay now," Fitz said, rubbing his hands "since Coulson already went, I'll go next." There were no objections. "My secret santa is someone who I appreciate a lot. She's a bit quirky and sarcastic, but I like her anyway." He handed Daisy a package smaller than Yo-yo's. She untied the laces of the box and drew another box from it, a delicate and red velveted box. She opened it, but didn't reveal its content to anyone. If her reaction could be described, it would be filled with question marks. "I don't get it" she finally said, closing the box and generating suspense.

         "Well, you can't have everything you wanted" Fitz explained "I'm not really lucky when it comes to sorting, but I was hoping my secret Santa would exchange gifts with Jemma." "Fitz, that's against the rules!" Simmons said. "I think Fitz wanted to be a part of my bad girl shenanigans" Daisy replicated with a grin. She got up, walked towards Jemma's seat and placed the box in front of her. Despite her urge to reject the present, the biochemist's curiosity won. When she saw what was inside, Fitz proclaimed:

         "Will you accept this engangement ring, Jemma?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is short compaired to last year's, but I hope you have all liked it! Happy holidays to everyone!


End file.
